> Have you heard of the Cockroach Theory for Self Development?
>
> At a restaurant, a cockroach suddenly flew from somewhere and sat on a
> lady. She started screaming out of fear. With a panic stricken face and
> trembling voice, she started jumping, with both her hands desperately
> trying to get rid of the cockroach. Her reaction was contagious, as
> everyone in her group also got panicky.
> The lady finally managed to push the cockroach away but …it landed on
> another lady in the group.
> Now, it was the turn of the other lady in the group to
> continue the drama. The waiter rushed forward to their rescue.
> In the relay of throwing, the cockroach next fell upon the waiter. The
> waiter stood firm, composed himself and observed the behavior of the
> cockroach on his shirt. When he was confident enough, he grabbed it with
> his fingers and threw it out of the restaurant.
> Sipping my coffee and watching the amusement, the antenna of my mind
> picked up a few thoughts and started wondering, was the cockroach
> responsible for their histrionic behavior?
> If so, then why was the waiter not disturbed?
> He handled it near to perfection, without any chaos. It is not the
> cockroach, but the inability of the ladies to handle the disturbance caused
> by the cockroach that disturbed the ladies.
> I realized that, it is not the shouting of my father or my boss or my wife
> that disturbs me, but it’s my inability to handle the disturbances caused
> by their shouting that
> disturbs me. It’s not the traffic jams on the road that disturbs me, but
> my inability to handle the disturbance caused by the traffic jam that
> disturbs me.
> More than the problem, it’s my reaction to the problem that creates chaos
> in my life.
> Lessons learnt from the story:
> Do not react in life. Always respond. The women reacted, whereas the
> waiter responded.
> Reactions are always instinctive whereas responses are always well thought
> of, just and right to save a situation from going out of hands, to avoid
> cracks in relationship, to avoid taking decisions in anger, anxiety, stress
> or hurry.
>